Chapter 114: SHE WAS PRETENDING ALL ALONG

Chapter 114: SHE WAS PRETENDING ALL ALONGIt was the last day of December, and the capital and the other fiefs in Amberale were alive with festive celebrations. The streets were lit with lanterns, and the evening air buzzed with excitement as the people of Amberale celebrated the end of the year and welcomed the new one.

The night was bright on this very day. The time of night was always bustling and lively during festivals.

Aristia’s favorite part of the festival was the food— especially the variety of local street foods offered in the stalls. The Decker twins and other commoners who worked at the restaurant had set up stalls to sell street food, snacks and treats, thanks to Aristia sponsoring them with a sum of money for them to set up stalls on this night of the festival.

They had brought the food to the people on this occasion instead of the people coming to the restaurant.

This helped boost AE’s reputation among the commoners.

"Linny," Aristia called to Adeline as she, Adeline and Owen strolled the streets leisurely.

"Yes, Miss?" Adeline replied, turning toward her.

"What do you think about Finn Decker?" Aristia asked, watching her reaction.

"Sir Decker?" Adeline’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. "He is polite and acts like a gentleman," she said.

"Do you like him?" Aristia asked.

"I— yes?" Adeline responded, startled by the question.



"I mean, do you have feelings for Finn?" Aristia rephrased, realizing her question might have sounded odd.

She had, for a moment, forgotten that she was in the body of a child. Her question seemed a little strange coming from a little child of five years old, advanced intelligence or not.

Adeline hesitated, then said, "I... I’m not sure, Miss."

"How do you feel when he’s around you?" Aristia pressed, genuinely curious and concerned. She cared about Adeline, which was why she bothered to ask. She didn’t want the latter to get hurt.

Adeline paused to think. "When he’s around me... I get shy, and my heart beats faster." She admitted, her cheeks turning pink.

Aristia deduced that Adeline was feeling a little shy now thinking about Finn. And Adeline was never shy.

"I see." Aristia nodded.

However...

Aristia could have believed her words— for a moment she did and would have continued to— if she had not at that moment caught the slight look Owen showed while glancing at Adeline.

Her eyes narrowed. She turned to Adeline.

"Tell me the truth, Linny. Do you like Finn or not?" She pressed, looking at Adeline with deadpan seriousness.

Adeline looked down at her, and the pinkish tint in her cheeks faded slowly. Her bashful look disappeared and her shy voice when talking about her feelings became plain like she was speaking about the weather.

"I don’t have any feelings for Finn Decker." She was clearly telling the truth.

Aristia paused. So Adeline had indeed been lying. She didn’t have feelings for Finn Decker. All this shyness had been pretense? So her pausing and hesitating before answering was not because of shyness but because she was thinking about what to say.

Adeline sighed and looked ahead of her.

"Princess, I’ll remain with you even in my old age," she declared in a low voice. She could never leave her princess.

Aristia sighed. This girl. Did she intend to stay single forever? Nevertheless, it wasn’t late. Adeline was only seventeen years old. There was still a lot of time to cultivate relationships.

"Let’s continue," she said, not wanting to dwell on Adeline’s lack of feelings for the guy. "I need some meat skewers now."

The group headed to the twins’ stall.

"Your Highness," Finn and Fiona bowed.

"Finn, Fiona, what did I say about bowing in public?" Aristia asked with a playful grin.

"We apologize, Miss Aris." They said in unison, still marveling at the day Aristia had revealed her true identity. They couldn’t believe it the day Aristia revealed her identity. They were truly amazed.

Finn glanced at Adeline, smiling charmingly.

Aristia sighed inwardly. Poor Finn. He really seemed to like Adeline, but the latter didn’t reciprocate.

Aristia wasn’t an expert in love, but she could see that Finn was attracted to Adeline. Whether it was really love, or just attraction, or infatuation, she couldn’t tell.


[Poor guy’s gonna be heartbroken.] She thought. [Anyway, there’s something more urgent than that now...]

"We’re here for meat skewers," she smiled hungrily.

Fiona smiled. "How many will you have?"

"Twelve." Aristia responded.

"Twelve skewers coming right up. Here they are." Fiona replied, quickly handing them over. "And no need to pay, Miss Aris." How could the princess pay when it was her money?

Aristia nodded in thanks. She handed four meat skewers to Adeline. "Owen and I will go see the festival," she said. "Adeline, why don’t you join Finn since Fiona’s managing the stall?"

Before either Adeline or Finn could say a word, Fiona flashed a mischievous smile, nodding approvingly. "That’s a great idea." She said.



"Let’s go, Owen."

Before Adeline or Finn could respond, again, Aristia and Owen had already walked away, leaving them to enjoy the festival.

"Miss Adeline?" Finn called out, implying that they should get going.

"Yes." Adeline nodded, but her gaze remained in Aristia’s moving form.

[Sorry, Linny. But I have to do this. It’s for your own good. The world we live in doesn’t support not marrying. I can handle it, but you can’t... I think.] Aristia thought, feeling Adeline’s deep gaze on her back but choosing to ignore it.

Finn turned to Adeline, trying to make conversation as they walked slowly. "So, Miss Adeline, you’re the maidservant of the princ— I mean, Miss Aris?"

"Yes," Adeline agreed proudly, looking him straight in the eye. "I am."

Finn glanced at her and they stared at each other in silence. It was their first time alone together, but now that Aristia wasn’t present, Finn felt like Adeline was a bit colder.

Suddenly, a group of children ran past them, laughing and shouting, interrupting the frozen atmosphere between them.

"Who’s the pretty lady with Finn?" one asked.

"Finn, who’s the beautiful lady?" A young boy asked him.

"Does Finn like her?" another chimed in.

"Is he going to marry her?" a third one joked.

Finn was caught off guard and glanced at Adeline, whose expression didn’t change. He quickly changed the subject.

"Have you all tried the meat skewers?" He asked the children, distracting them from further questions. He didn’t want to make Adeline uncomfortable, even though she didn’t look affected by it even the slightest. But even so, he didn’t want her to feel awkward.

"You opened the stall?" A child asked, surprised. Ever since Finn and his sister bean working at The Vanilla Courtyard, they had hardly opened their stall.

"Of course," Finn replied. "Our benevolent owner arranged for some of the workers to open stalls and sell food today." As he talked about the owner, his gaze flitted to Adeline meaningfully before settling back on the children.

"Meat skewers!" One of the children exclaimed. "I still have money!"

"I do too. Goodbye, Finn! Goodbye, beautiful lady!"

The children became excited on hearing the words ’meat skewers’ and quickly ran off in the direction of the stall where Finn and Adeline had come from, leaving the two to continue their walk.

"Sorry about that," Finn said, turning to Adeline.

"It’s fine," she replied.

"So, shall we continue?" Finn asked.

"Of course," Adeline replied.

As they walked through the festival, Adeline asked about the timing of the fireworks. "When do the lights start?"

"The lights? Ah, perhaps you mean the firecrackers? They usually start at midnight," Finn explained. "Want to watch them?"

"I would like to." Adeline nodded.

"It is almost midnight. Come with me, Miss Adeline." Finn said.

With that, Finn led the way, and they walked through the lively streets, stopping at an old, abandoned building. Finn climbed up onto the roof and reached down to help Adeline up.

"Grab my hand, Miss Adeline." He said.

Adeline hesitated, considering whether she should ignore his offer and climb up herself, but in the end, she took his hand, and he pulled her onto the roof. The both of them were now on the roof of the house.

The roof they sat on was in rough shape and slightly uneven. It was covered with wooden shingles that had seen better days— many were cracked, broken, slipped out of place, or missing altogether. The wooden beams that held up the roof were bent and sagging in places.



Moss and lichen grew on the shingles, giving them a patchy, greenish appearance. Birds had built nests in the open gaps, and some small animals had found their way inside through the holes. They occasionally darted across the roof, causing loose debris to cascade down. In some places, the thatch beneath the shingles was exposed.

The edges of the roof were overgrown with weeds and vines that crept up from the ground, their tendrils weaving into the cracked crevices.

But despite the roof’s dilapidated condition, it provided a wide, unobstructed view of the night sky and the bustling streets below. From their vantage point, they could see the festival lights twinkling like stars, with the distant sound of music and laughter carried by the cool night air.

"Please excuse me for allowing you to sit in such condition," Finn apologized, referring to the state of the place.

Adeline shook her head in reply.

She sat down on a clear space on the roof where no mice or insects were in, and Finn followed.

As they settled into a comfortable spot, they could feel the gentle breeze that rustled through the surrounding trees and carried the scent of distant smoke from the festival stalls.

Though it wasn’t a very pristine place to be, Adeline wouldn’t deny that the roof offered a beautiful view, where they could watch the firecrackers in all their colorful glory.

They sat together, waiting for the fireworks to begin. It was a perfect spot to watch the festival and the start of the new year. They sat on the roof, watching as the old year gave way to the new.

They both looked at the lit up streets in silence.

"It is beautiful, isn’t it?" Finn asked.

"Yes." Adeline moved her face away from the view and turned to face him only to find him staring at her.